Escape
by Bunny on the Moon
Summary: DISCONTINUED. Eventual Malik x Ryou. Ryou is tired of being controlled by the spirit of the Sennen Ring. Who can he turn to in order to help escape from the spirit? The only other one who's had to deal with a psychotic other self, of course...
1. Ain't Afraid to Die

Chapter One: Ain't Afraid to Die

The last thing he remembered was sitting down on the couch with a cup of tea.

And, if he remembered correctly, it had been fairly early in the morning as well.

If one were to look in the room and see the look of utter confusion on the face of Bakura Ryou, they would probably be just as lost as he was. But, if they knew the reasons for said confusion, everything would suddenly click in their minds and they would dismiss it without a second thought.

Ryou blinked as he stared down at the light brown spot on his carpet, several shards of broken ceramic dotting the rather large stain. The fact that it was late evening outside barely registered in his mind as he tried to recall just how he had managed to drop his teacup - he was normally very careful with his possessions; just dropping them would be uncharacteristic of him. Perhaps he had been startled and dropped it? No, that didn't seem quite right...

Come to think of it, he couldn't remember a good chunk of what had happened in the day: it was as if one moment it was early morning, the first rays of sunlight peeking out from behind the Domino City skyline; he blinked, and then it was nearly eight at night, a maelstrom of dark clouds churning above the city.

A clap of thunder and the feel of cold metal against his chest jolted Ryou out of his thoughts.

His slender fingers subconsciously traced the outline of the object beneath his shirt, and then the proverbial gears in his head came to a grinding halt. That was it - the spirit of the Sennen Ring had taken control of his body once again, and pushed him back into the far corners of his mind where he could do nothing but sit in the darkness and wait for said spirit to return control to him. In those areas of his mind, time was irrelevant; several hours would pass in the blink of an eye, and Ryou would have no memory of what was done while the spirit was in control.

Of course... that was always how it was. How Ryou could've forgotten such a simple fact was beyond him.

He sighed, standing up and walking to the hall closet to retrieve a broom and dustpan. The broken pieces of his teacup would be easy enough to clean, but he was sure that that tea was going to stain horribly, since it had been soaking into the carpet all day.

He could almost _feel_ the spirit laughing from within the far reaches of his mind, and it troubled him - just what exactly had the thief _done_ while he was in possession of Ryou's body? Knowing him, it was most likely something illegal. How absolutely _lovely_.

As he cleaned up the fragments of ceramic dotting his floor, Ryou idly wondered what it would be like if he were to be freed of the spirit that he was bound to. He would no longer have these gaping holes in his memory; he would no longer have to deal with the consequences of the thief's wrongdoings. He wondered if the spirit even cared that he was using his body the way he was - he often found himself with numerous bruises and scrapes, most likely from the various escape stunts that the spirit of the Ring had pulled. Those were quite bothersome as well, as he would rather _not_ have to clean wounds that were not a result of said escapes...

Ryou dumped the broken ceramic into a small garbage bin in his living room, then stood up and faced the mirror hanging on the wall, gasping in shock when he saw himself - he was a complete and utter mess. His ivory hair was disheveled, and judging from how bloodshot his eyes were, the spirit had been running around in his body all day, and now Ryou was feeling the effects of it. He was absolutely exhausted, and it was obvious to anyone with half a brain. But what really got his attention was the streak of crimson running across his left cheek - a clear sign that the spirit of the Ring had been forced to high-tail it over a chain-link fence or something similar.

_Why must you do this to me, voice...?_

A low-pitched cackle resounded from within the depths of Ryou's mind, and for a split-second, he could see a reflection in the mirror that was not his own, but that of the thief king. Ryou tore his eyes away from the mirror and clutched his head as the sardonic chuckling in his mind evolved into maniacal laugher - one that became so mind-numbingly painful that Ryou wanted to just rip his hair out.

_Voice... please, stop this..._

It wasn't often that the spirit answered him back. But this time, it was different. As the hysterics subsided, the thief's voice continued to echo in Ryou's mind. _Or what, landlord?_

Ryou didn't have an answer for that. His shaking hands gripped the thick leather cord that bound the Sennen Ring around his neck, and in one swift movement, he removed the offending garment from his person. He held it up by the cord; it slowly spun around so that the front side of it was facing him. The Eye of Horus met Ryou's brown orbs, and it felt as if it were staring into the depths of his soul. A shiver went up his spine as he tossed the shining golden ring away from him - it skidded across the floor and came to a stop just in front of the doorway leading into the kitchen of his apartment.

He had to get away from it.

Ryou quickly strode out of the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind him. He paid no attention to the streaks of lightning shooting across the sky was he walked out into the cool autumn night, arms wrapped around himself - he just had to get as far away from the Ring and its spirit as he possibly could. Besides, he was rather hungry; a nice dinner out would do well to calm his nerves.

There was one thing in particular that he was craving, and he was absolutely positive that it would lift his spirits: cream puffs.

As he began making his way toward the local bakery, Ryou couldn't help but smile a little bit. Cream puffs weren't much of a dinner, but he didn't care - they were tasty nonetheless, and he hadn't had any in a long while. A stop at the bakery wouldn't hurt at all. But then, another thought hit him. Where would Ryou go after eating his fill? He certainly didn't want to return to his apartment, not while the Sennen Ring was still there. Perhaps he would call Yuugi or one of his friends and ask if they wouldn't mind taking him in for the night - but no, that would be foolish of him. He didn't want to be a bother.

Ryou sighed and shook his head as he continued his stroll. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. If all else failed, he would just stay in a hotel for the night and return to his apartment the next day.

The sky continued to grow darker as Ryou drew closer to the bakery. The wind picked up, blowing his already messy hair around a bit. The thunder and lightning became more frequent, and he quickened his pace - it certainly wouldn't do well to get caught out in this storm. If he made it to the bakery before it started raining, then he could just sit inside, eat his cream puffs, and wait it out.

It was only a few more minutes before Ryou reached his destination. Since it was nighttime, there probably wouldn't be any fresh goods, but that was no matter. Cream puffs were best when freshly made and still warm, but they were still good even after sitting out for a while.

The door of the bake shop swung open with a ringing of chimes, and Ryou entered the shop, the smell of coffee and various baked goods wafting through the air. There weren't many people inside - one or two other customers, along with a couple of employees. One of them turned to face Ryou as he approached the counter, a smile on his face; it quickly turned sour as something clicked within the worker's mind.

"Hey, you're that jerk who was in here earlier - you stole a loaf of bread and several muffins!" the worker angrily accused, pointing a finger at the extremely confused Ryou.

"Wh-what?" Ryou stammered, face flushing. There was no way he would do such a thing - but, of course, his earlier predicament rose anew in his mind. So that's what the spirit of the Ring had done while he was in control: robbed a bakery. "No, no, you've got it all wrong--"

"Hey, boss! Let's get 'im!" the worker shouted to the back room, and Ryou froze in his spot. Oh no. What was going to happen?

The next thing he knew, he found himself sprawled out on the sidewalk in front of the bakery. "Get out of here and don't ever come back, punk!" the angry worker's voice said from inside, and the glass door slammed so hard that Ryou was surprised that it didn't shatter.

Ryou started to push himself up off of the pavement, but when he felt the cold rain start to fall on his back, he decided against it and fell back down, trembling. Of course they wouldn't believe him - after all, when he was possessed by the spirit, he looked virtually the same. Once again, Ryou was being punished for something that the thief had done, and he silently asked the gods why he was cursed with a burden such as this.

He lay there on the sidewalk, unmoving. The thunder and lightning continued to crackle above him as the rain started falling harder and harder. Ryou shivered as the cold rain soaked through his clothes, and he knew that if he didn't get to a shelter soon, he was going to catch his death of cold. He shakily picked himself up and started walking - where, he didn't know. He was somewhat disoriented from being thrown out of the bakery, and his vision grew slightly fuzzy as he wandered the streets of Domino. There was nowhere he could go except back to his own apartment, and that was the last place that he wanted to be.

Several different thoughts ran through Ryou's mind as he walked. He couldn't help but feel jealous of Yuugi, even with as good a friend as the small boy was - the spirit residing within Yuugi's Sennen Item was rather tame, despite what may have happened in his ancient Egyptian past. The pharaoh had become part of Yuugi's circle of friends, and he was willing to stay at his partner's side through thick and thin, and help him whenever necessary. Not to mention, Yuugi also had his best friends to back him up every step of the way, and that was what Ryou was the most jealous of. Having lost his mother and sister at a young age, having virtually no friends throughout most of his life, and his father never being around was a large blow to Ryou's spirits.

To be honest, the spirit of the Ring had been the only thing that had kept Ryou company throughout most of his life. And knowing that the spirit only needed his body in order to remain alive only made him feel even more alone.

He was constantly in the background in any given situation - he was almost never included in any activities between Yuugi and his friends, and he most certainly wasn't included in "The Circle": no, the spots in that were only reserved for Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu.

Ryou was completely and utterly _alone_.

These thoughts plagued his mind; a neverending melody that continued to grow louder and louder as he continued to slowly shuffle his way through the torrential downpour. A steady stream of tears flowed down his cheeks, mingling with the rain that dripped down from his soaked bangs. Why was _he_ the one that was excluded? Why was _he_ the one that nobody thought of? Why was _he_ the one that had to deal with the sadistic spirit?

... Why was _he_ the one that was so alone?

Ryou felt so selfish and foolish for thinking these thoughts. He'd never done anything to anyone; why was _he_ the one with all of the bad luck? Yet, he felt that he should at least have _some_ reason to wake up in the mornings - something to look forward to, like seeing his friends or doing the things that he loved with no interruptions like that of a bloodthirsty thief living in his jewelry.

The more he thought about that, the more he welcomed the idea of death - after all, death was the ultimate escape from the hellhole that was called life. Death would grant him liberty; it would grant him the freedom that he had been searching for all of his life. He doubted anybody would miss him if he were to suddenly drop off of the mortal coil. He doubted anybody would come to his funeral. He doubted anybody would visit his grave: the lonely little stone slab that would display "Bakura Ryou" on it, with no epitaph or even his death date engraved in it. He doubted anybody would even notice.

The thief would notice. But only because he would no longer have a vessel. Ha, too bad for him. It would be killing two birds with one stone.

Ryou wasn't sure how long he had walked through the rain, but somehow he found himself coming to a stop in the middle of the street. It was virtually deserted; absolutely nobody would be out in a storm like this. Perhaps, if he was lucky, some insane driver would come screaming down the street and end his pitiful existence, not even seeing him through the sheets of rain that were falling. Yeah, that would be the ideal way to die. He would be slammed by a ton of metal, and his world would become black - not much different from when he was possessed by the spirit... except this time, he wouldn't be returning to the light of day. He almost smiled at the idea. He wasn't afraid to die, it would be far too liberating for him.

A distant noise broke his thoughts, and he languidly turned his head to see a pair of headlights in the distance - they appeared to be heading straight toward him.

This time, he smiled. This was it. He was finally going to get the escape he had been desiring for far too long. The headlights drew closer and closer to him, and Ryou found himself thinking about all of the things he never got to do - never won a Duel Monsters tournament, never celebrated his eighteenth birthday and his ascension into manhood, never graduated high school... never had a best friend... never fell in love...

Never lived his own life...

Realization dropped onto Ryou's head as the headlights continued to draw nearer to him. No. He didn't want to die. He didn't want his life to end just yet, not when there was so much that he hadn't done. His first instinct was obvious; move out of the path of the car! But he found himself paralyzed. He was practically rooted to the street below him, immobilized with fear. He was going to die, and nobody would care, and--

A warm hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him up onto the sidewalk just before the car would've hit him.

"The hell are you doing? You trying to get yourself _killed_?"

Ryou blinked. Had someone just saved his life...? He slowly turned around to get a glimpse of his savior, and his eyes widened. This boy was oddly familiar, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it...

He was obviously foreign, judging from the dark tan skin tone. A mop of flaxen blonde hair topped his head and fell down to his shoulders; his cloudy lavender eyes were lined with kohl, and were giving Ryou a look of incredulousness that then turned to sheer surprise as he realized just who he had saved from certain death.

"... _Bakura_?" the boy asked, confusion evident in his heavily accented voice..

A flash of recognition went through Ryou's mind - this was... he _knew_ this boy, not very well, but he knew the name, now if only it would come to him - _wait_, that was it!

Ryou's voice came out in little more than a squeak. "... Malik... Ishtar...?"


	2. Cage

Chapter Two: Cage

Ryou blinked.

Hadn't he _just_ been standing out in the rain, having been saved from certain death only moments before?

And now, he was currently sitting on a couch in an unfamiliar apartment, wrapped up in a thick blanket; his hair was still dripping, but he felt relatively warm. He sighed, looking down at his hands. He was really getting tired of having a short-term memory, even if it wasn't his _fault_ that it was short-term...

"Bakura-san?"

The quiet voice broke Ryou from his thoughts, and he looked up at the voice. As soon as his eyes met the azure of the attractive Egyptian woman standing before him, everything that had happened in the last fifteen minutes came back to him in a blur. He only vaguely remembered being pulled out from in front of the car that seemed hell-bent on ending his life; after that, the boy who had saved him took him beneath his umbrella and led him back to this apartment. Ryou could just barely feel the light weight of the boy's hand on his upper back, urging him to continue walking.

That was it. He remembered now - the boy who had saved him was Malik Ishtar, the same person who had conspired with the spirit of the Ring during the Battle City tournament. The one who had caused the spirit to seal their deal by spilling Ryou's blood. The one whose other self had been created from his own inner torment, instead of from the Sennen Item that had been in his possession...

And this woman who was leaning down slightly, holding something out to Ryou - his sister, Isis, wasn't it...? This realization brought a new question to Ryou's mind: what were the Ishtars doing in Domino? Hadn't they gone back to Egypt?

Isis spoke again. "Here. Drink this."

Ryou looked down at the object in Isis' hands - a mug. He reached out for it, hands trembling; whether it was from the cold or the fact that he was still shaken from nearly being hit by a car, he wasn't sure. His hands clasped around the mug - it was quite warm - and he muttered a quiet "thank you", bringing it to his lips. Ryou could feel the warm liquid going down his throat, a faint taste of mint tea registering in his mind. When he'd downed half of the mug's contents, he stopped drinking, allowing the tea to settle within his stomach.

Which reminded him: he'd never gotten his cream puffs, so he was still quite hungry. But he would make due with what he had at the moment - he was positive that he was already imposing.

He felt a small hand upon his shoulder, and looked up again. Isis had a look of concern etched upon her face, and Ryou wondered what she was thinking at the time. Surely, she was questioning why he had been brought into her apartment on this stormy night... however, a completely different question arose. "How are you feeling, Bakura-san?" she asked, worry apparent in her voice.

"I... I feel..." Ryou mumbled. He wasn't really sure how he felt. He was hungry, thirsty, hot, cold, sleepy, tired, worried, embarrassed, depressed--

"Drink the rest of your tea," Isis said, gently taking hold of his wrist. She guided the mug back up toward him. "You'll feel better."

Ryou nodded weakly, and proceeded to drink what was left in the mug. Isis was right; within minutes he could feel his body warming up from the inside out. But he still felt pretty miserable. He wanted to go home and get some sleep - but then, he didn't want to go home either. Not with the Ring there. He didn't know what to do, but he certainly didn't want to be a bother to Isis and her family.

"I... I'm sorry," Ryou muttered, feebly standing up. "I need to get home now--"

"No, Bakura-san, stay right there," Isis said, gently - yet firmly - pushing him back down onto the couch. "It's still raining outside; you'll be sick if you go out into the storm again."

Ryou frowned, pouting slightly. "But... I don't want to impose..."

Isis smiled gently at him, lightly placing her hand on top of his still-wet head. "You're not imposing, Bakura-san. After all, it was my brother's decision to bring you here. Don't blame yourself for that."

Ryou opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off by another voice coming from the hallway. "Hey Isis, shower's free." Two heads turned to face the new speaker, and Ryou's brown eyes met with the violet of Malik, who was leaning against the doorframe that led to said hallway. Judging from the slightly-damp hair and the towel draped over his shoulders, he'd just emerged from the shower - he was already dressed, in a simple black t-shirt and shorts.

"All right," Isis responded, nodding slightly. She looked back down at Ryou, hand still on his head. "Why don't you take a nice hot shower, Bakura-san? You look like you're freezing."

"Um..." Ryou's eyes fell downward, to see that he was shivering slightly. Despite the blanket around him, he was still rather wet, and a warm shower sounded rather appealing. He looked back up at Isis, seeing that she wasn't going to take no for an answer, and nodded weakly. "... Okay..." He slowly stood, dropping the damp blanket onto the couch. He would've picked it up, but he felt much too weak to do so.

"Just leave your clothes in the laundry basket, and I'll dry them for you," Isis said, giving Ryou a gentle nudge in the direction of the bathroom.

"Thank you," Ryou muttered, slowly making his way toward the bathroom, eyes fixed on the ground. As he drew closer, he glanced up at Malik, who was still leaning against the doorframe. Time seemed to slow down a bit as the slightly taller boy regarded Ryou with a piercing gaze that said _I want to talk to you_. Ryou just barely felt the blood rushing to his face, and he cast his eyes to the floor again as he silently passed Malik. He could feel the blonde's eyes still on him as he walked down the hallway and entered the bathroom, which was still quite steamy from Malik's shower.

Shutting the door behind him, Ryou instantly felt the hot air warming up his skin. As he peeled off his wet clothes and tossed them into the laundry basket, he sniffled, feeling a sneeze coming on. Great, just what he needed - the beginnings of a cold. Although, he really had nobody to blame but himself; after all, when one wanders aimlessly in the rain for God-knows-how-long, there's no telling what sort of things will happen to one's respiratory system. That, in conjunction with the slightly runny nose, was enough to convince Ryou that his virtually nonexistent immune system had failed him once again.

But, enough dwelling on that. Now is shower-time.

As Ryou stepped into the scalding spray of water - which was only considered "scalding" because his skin was cold to the touch - he instantly felt his body begin to warm up. The frigid water that was dripping from his hair now dripped warm; the droplets of water that fell onto his back soothed his aching muscles, rather than numbing them like the freezing rain had. He turned around, and hissed slightly as the water came into contact with the cut on his cheek, which had been forgotten until it had started stinging just then.

He wasn't entirely sure how long he stood under the steaming water, but the sudden cold snapped him away from whatever thoughts he was having: wanting to be hit by a car, almost being hit by said car, being saved from said car, the boy who saved him from said car... Ryou turned off the water and stepped out, steam flooding his vision again. As he dried himself off, he spied a small dark pile of something on the bathroom counter - somebody had left a t-shirt and a pair of shorts for him to wear, of which he assumed were Malik's. That thought in mind, Ryou once again sighed to himself. He was absolutely positive that he was imposing now, despite what Isis had told him a while ago. Though, since his own clothes were still quite wet - and not to mention _cold_ - he didn't really have much of a choice but to put on the ones provided.

When he finished dressing, Ryou stepped out of the bathroom, vigorously rubbing his long hair with a towel. He emerged back into the living room, draping said towel over his shoulders; he guessed that Isis had turned in for the evening, as there was nobody in the room - except for Malik, who was sitting on the sofa, blankly gazing at the television in front of him.

Ryou bit his lip. That look that Malik had given him on his way to the bathroom... it lingered within his memory, and he quietly approached the sofa, wondering if Malik even knew he was there. "... Um--"

"Sit," Malik said, cutting him off. He gestured toward the expanse of couch that lay between he and Ryou.

Ryou blinked, somewhat taken aback by the command, but he wordlessly obliged, sitting on the far end of the couch. He nervously twisted the hem of his t-shirt between his fingers, wondering what Malik had to say. Was he going to question why he'd been out in the rain? Was he going to ask about the cut on his face?

... Did he want to speak to the spirit of the Ring?

Ryou's answer soon came to him in the form of a question. "... What were you doing out in the middle of the road like that? Did you not see the car coming?"

Ryou tensed, and slowly shifted his eyes toward Malik. The Egyptian was looking at him again, that same look in his eyes that had been there before - that very intense, yet somewhat curious gaze that felt as if her were staring into the depths of Ryou's soul, trying to find the answers to his questions. For a split-second, Ryou wondered if Malik was angry with him for some reason, as the look on his face was so serious, yet the other's posture informed him otherwise - Malik had his elbow resting on the arm of the sofa, one leg tucked beneath the other.

"Um... I..." Ryou started. He didn't want to tell Malik why he had been out in the road, yet somehow he knew that he would feel better if he could just vent and let all of his thoughts out; however, he would rather not burden Malik with all of his problems. "I didn't see it..." he quietly muttered, hoping that Malik would believe him.

"Yeah right," Malik said, straightening himself. "You were staring at it, like a literal deer-in-headlights."

His tone of voice caused Ryou to cringe - he hadn't expected Malik to sound so... angry. Casting his eyes down toward an interesting-looking gnarl on the coffee table, he hesitantly continued, voice barely audible. "... I couldn't move. I was so scared that it would hit me, that... I just couldn't move." Well, he was speaking the truth - but not the _entire_ truth.

Malik's tone was softer when he spoke next. "That doesn't explain why you were out in the road in the first place - and in this _storm_, no less."

Ryou sighed. It was obvious that Malik wasn't going to let up until he got some answers. "I... really didn't know that I was out in the road until I saw the car coming... I just started walking, not knowing where I was going, or how long I was wandering..." A quick glance at the clock told Ryou that it was nearly midnight. Had he been out _that_ long? It was then that he realized just how exhausted he was. Ryou reached up and ran his fingers through his tangled wet hair, in an attempt to straighten it out a bit; he was positive that he looked worse than when he'd seen himself in the mirror early that evening.

Only when Ryou moved some of his bangs aside did Malik notice the long red line across his cheek. "... Bakura, what happened to your face?" he asked, leaning closer. He reached over, turning Ryou's face toward his so he could get a better look at the cut.

The sudden closeness between them brought a light blush to Ryou's face - he hoped that Malik wouldn't notice, or pass it off as a fever-induced flush at most. "I... don't know," Ryou said, truthfully. He was fairly positive that it had been done while the thief was in control of his body; exactly how it was acquired was a mystery to him.

"... You'd better get that cleaned good, or it might get infected," Malik said, not indicating that he'd noticed the coloring of Ryou's face. "I'll be right back." With that, he stood up and started walking toward the bathroom, Ryou's eyes following him the whole way. Moments later, he returned with a small rag in one hand and a bottle of peroxide in the other.

Malik opened the bottle, the pungent smell of the liquid soon filling the room. He wrinkled his nose up at the scent before holding the rag to it and inverting the bottle. "This will sting a bit," he said, looking back at Ryou. As soon as the end of the cloth was thoroughly soaked with the peroxide, Malik turned the bottle back over and sat it on the coffee table. He took Ryou's chin in his hand again, and lightly dabbed the cut on his cheek with the rag.

Ryou let out a hiss as the rag came into contact with the cut; he was right, it _did_ sting. However, he simply bit down on his lip in order not to make any other sounds to indicate that he was in pain. He looked down at the couch as Malik continued cleaning the small wound, only looking back up again when the other boy had released his chin.

"It doesn't look very deep, so I don't think it'll need stitches or anything, but still. Try to keep it clean until it scabs over." Malik laid a hand on Ryou's shoulder, raising an eyebrow as the latter's cheeks colored again.

"... Okay," Ryou mumbled, nodding weakly. If Malik had been sitting any closer to him, he was pretty sure that he would blush himself into a coma - why, he wasn't sure. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he always got flustered when in close physical contact with others. Or he could always keep blaming it on the cold that he'd seemingly come down with.

After a few moments of silence, Malik stood up and walked over to a window. He gazed out of it for a minute, and then turned to look at Ryou again, a frown on his face. "I don't think this storm's going to let up anytime soon, so you'd better stay here tonight." He paused, walking closer to the couch. "I'm not going to lie to you: you look like hell right now, and being out in that rain anymore won't do you any good."

Ryou looked up at Malik, slightly surprised. While he was completely against burdening the Ishtars anymore than he already was, the idea of going back out into the storm was getting less and less appealing. All he really wanted to do was curl up in a warm blanket, and at this point, he didn't particularly care where it was. "Okay..." he repeated, settling on the couch. "Um... I'll just sleep here..."

"No, the couch is still a little wet, and you don't look like you should be sleeping on something wet right now," Malik said, shaking his head. "You can sleep in my room, I'll stay out here."

... Wait, what? Ryou stood up, shaking his head in protest. "Oh, I couldn't possibly do that... I'll be fine here, I swear..."

"Bakura," Malik said in an impatient tone, "I told you, it's fine. I've slept in worse conditions, believe me. You, on the other hand, could use a good night's rest, and I doubt you'll be able to get that on a damp couch.

A small sigh escaped from Ryou's lips. Malik obviously wasn't going to take no for an answer, and he nodded in defeat.

"It's at the far end of the hallway." Malik pointed down the hall, toward the open door at the end. He took a step toward Ryou, that intense gaze returning as he looked the shorter boy straight in the eyes. "And don't think you're getting off the hook this easily. I expect some real answers tomorrow."

Ryou swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and nodded yet again, before slowly shuffling toward the Egyptian's room. When he reached the doorway leading into the hall, he looked over his shoulder at Malik. "...Malik-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"... Thank you," Ryou said quietly, a tiny smile forming on his face. "Good night," he said, before turning back around and continuing down the hallway. He barely heard the 'good night' spoken after him as he entered Malik's room, shutting the door behind him.

He took a moment to examine his surroundings. Like a room that had only recently been moved into, it was quite plain. There was little furniture; only a dresser, a bed, and a small nightstand with a lamp on it. There were a few articles of clothing spread about the blue-carpeted floor, and the only thing adorning the walls was a large tapestry on the wall over the bed - one with many hieroglyphs etched across it.

After gazing at the tapestry for a few moments, Ryou snapped back into reality and walked toward Malik's bed. At this point, he could hardly tell up from down as he pulled back the soft blanket and climbed between the sheets. He used his last little bit of energy to turn off the lamp, before succumbing to a deep sleep that fell upon him as soon as his head hit the pillow.


End file.
